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When do you add the tanning? Thanks!

Welcome! I'm a small grower in the middle Shenandoah Valley; I only have about 50 vines I have had great success with Chambourcin and Vidal Blanc; around here they say Vidal Blanc will grow in a ditch, but with Chambourcin, you don't even need the ditch. I'm doing pretty well with some other red...

Here in the Shenandoah Valley, as of this morning, I have bud break on every variety (Marquette, Marshal Foch,Noiret, Chambourcin, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, Vidal Blanc, Tramminette, Villard blanc, and Mysterio the mystery grape), and grapelets on the Marquette, Marshal Foch, and Mysterio.

Thanks for the lead on the yeast starter. I always stress primary fermentation, waiting for the fun to begin. I will be trying this on my next batch. Also, thanks for RC-212/EC-1118 Kickstarter tip. RC-212 has been my go-to for a number of years, but I recently had a need for a high alcohol...

Barrels mostly seal by moisture swelling and internal pressure from the liquid inside. Unfortunately, wood being an organic material, a perfect seal is nearly impossible, so for centuries , barrelmakers have used beeswax to seal drips on seams. In modern times, commercially available barrel...

Thanks!

I made my first Marechal Foch varietal in 2023, and am pleased with the taste, aroma, and mouth feel. You mentioned that you would be bottling in the spring; how long will you age it before you serve it?

If you are looking for a large one, "The Homebuilt Winery" by Steve Hughes has plans for a foldable, 250 pound capacity press.

No, I'm at the other end of the state in Augusta County. Our last frost was in early May and bud break had already occurred, but I covered the Marquette, so ;was minimal damage. Veraison was mid July and I harvested them in mid August. By comparison, Chambourcin veraison was in early August and...

Thanks! This was the first year I managed to get any quantity of Marquette past the second frost in my area, but even then, they were mighty thin on the vine. I'll keep an eye on them this winter, but it may be getting on time to consider them an experiment that failed.

How old are your Chambourcin and Marquette? My oldest Chambourcin are six years old, but my Marquette are only four years old. This year, the Chambourcin yield was 10 times that of the Marquette. I have put that off to early Spring warm spells and the climate in the Mid Shenandoah Valley (VA)...

I have a small vineyard. I tried netting (and row cover), but I had problems installing, and bigger problems removing it. Somewhere, I read about hanging CD's from strings scattered about the vineyard. I've been doing it for about five years now, and the biggest problem I have is untangling the...

Hello Carles, and welcome! I have very fond memories of Barcelona and Castledefels; we lived there in the early 1960's. It was there I received an early lesson on wine and love. Our landlord had grape vines, and a small wine cellar in the basement of the house we rented. His son had a crush on...

It's odd that no one mentioned what I thought was the obvious use of a vacuum sealer for a home winemaker: freezing wine grapes. I have a small (55 vines) vineyard in the middle Shenandoah Valley. When I first began, my total harvest wasn't big enough to make a decent gallon, so I froze the...

I just planted my Marquette in May of 2019. It was a bit of a gamble, since I don't know anyone locally who's growing them. A couple of weeks ago, a friend had to make an emergency visit to Michigan. When he cleared quarantine, he gifted me with a bottle of Marquette. Now, I can't wait for...